Videocon may shift proposed projects from Burdwan

Kolkata: The Videocon Group on Sunday said it is contemplating the relocation of its proposed steel and power plants in Burdwan district of West Bengal to a different location on account of land acquisition troubles.

“We have acquired a small portion of land at Jamuria, in Burdwan district. We will take a call to relocate the steel and power plants to a different location within the state or go ahead in phases,” Videocon Industries director Annirudh Dhoot said here on Sunday.

The company is also hopeful of reducing the land requirement for the project, thanks to new technologies.

“The earlier plan was to acquire 3,000 acres of land, but now with newer technologies at hand, we hope a 3 million tonnes per annum steel plant and 1,200 MW power plant can be executed on 1,800-2,000 acres of land,” he said.

The group had signed an MoU with the previous Left Front government in this regard.

However, it has failed to make much progress on acquiring land and getting coal blocks in the state.

Dhoot said power is a priority area for the company and any prospective generation capacities would be earmarked for both captive and merchant trading. He said the group had decided to bid for coal blocks offered by both the state government and the Centre.

Dhoot said as part of its plans for the eastern region, Videocon has bid for a 1,320-MW power project in Bihar.

“In Orissa, we are planning for a minor port and in the long run, we will look into steel projects there also,” he said.